


Together

by vendettadays



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Gen, Magic sensitive Anna
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27508909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vendettadays/pseuds/vendettadays
Summary: 'Promise me, we do this together, okay?''Promise.'(What if Elsa had let Anna go with her in Frozen 2?)
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13
Collections: 2020 Disney Animated Movie Exchange (DAM Exchange)





	Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flipflop_diva](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/gifts).



‘So we go to Ahtohallan.’

‘Not we,’ said Elsa with resignation. ‘I have to do this alone.’ 

‘You are not going by yourself!!’ Anna’s voice rang across the desolate coast of the Dark Sea. She clenched her fists and glared at her sister. Face scrunched up in anger and frustration at yet another thing that Elsa had chosen to do without her, not even discussing it with her. ‘We promised that we would do this together.’ 

‘Anna…’ Elsa shook her head, tired and weary of the same argument. ‘We’ve talked about this. The Dark Sea is too dangerous for the both of us.’

‘But it’s not dangerous for you to go alone?’ Anna paced back and forth, kicking stone and dirt with every lap she did. ‘Why can you go, but not me?’

‘Because I’m Queen!’

Blasts of ice shot from Elsa’s hands, freezing the ground in crystalline patterns. It would have looked beautiful had it not been for Elsa’s expression, who was on the verge of tears and ready to break down at the sight of the ice that covered the ground. 

Anna’s eyes widened, stunned and speechless. They have argued over petty things like who got the last piece of chocolate. They even argued over more important things like the Kingdom. In all their years and even before Elsa's coronation, when nearly all their conversations were spoken with a door between them, Elsa had never pulled her rank.

‘And I’m your sister.’ Anna swallowed the lump in her throat, voice wavering as she mustered as much strength she could find to push the words out into the open. ‘I will always be your sister and I will always be there for you, whether you’re Queen or not.’ 

They stood in stony silence, a mirror to each other’s expression with the same furrowed brows, pursed lips and taunt shoulders. The wrecked remains of their parents’ ship stood in the background, an eerie skeleton of faded wood and rusting metal. A reminder of what they had lost. 

Elsa yielded first, gaze flicking to the ground. The corners of her mouth turned downward as she bit into her bottom lip. 

‘I can’t lose you Anna,’ confessed Elsa. She stepped close and took Anna's forearms, grip tight and unrelenting. All Anna could do was hold tightly back. ‘After everything with my powers, Hans, and you almost _dying_ … I don’t know what I would do if something bad happened.’ 

Anna's shoulders dropped for a brief moment before she straightened them. They always said they would face their problems together. ‘You can't let fear stop you and you can’t bear this burden by yourself. Let me help you carry it too.’ 

It looked like it physically pained Elsa to accept her words. Anna pulled Elsa into a hug and waited for the fragile moment to pass as Elsa gathered herself as she knew she would do. 

With a deep breath, Elsa stepped back and nodded. ‘Okay, but you have to do as I say.’

‘I can do that.’ 

Olaf appeared between Anna and Elsa, piping up after an unusual amount of silence for him. ‘Do you know if snowmen float?’ 

  
***

The sight of crashing waves of the Dark Sea had Anna reconsidering her earlier stubbornness as they arrived on its shores. The thought passed quickly and she steeled herself for the journey. Even if she felt like quailing at the might of the waters. 

Anna watched Elsa as she rushed back and forth on the pebble beach, seemingly impervious to the blustering winds. The north wind pulled at Anna's red hair and tugged at her clothes. The frigid chill seeped its fingers through her cloak and Anna hugged herself protectively against it. 

Elsa took off her coat, shrugged off her boots and threw them on a rock. She turned to Anna, determined and lips pursed, ‘Okay.’

‘Okay,’ repeated Anna with a nod.

Lightning flashed on the horizon. A crash of thunder rumbled the air. Elsa faced the sea. Her feet planted shoulders-width apart, she held her arms out with her palms turned up. She gritted her teeth, a deep furrow on her brow, arms shaking and hands tensed like claws as she raised them into the air. 

A ship of ice rose from the sea in a roaring rush of water. The entire ship bobbed before it settled, the hull sinking back below the surface. The water drained in torrents off the deck and spilled back into the sea. Two masts protruded upwards, the sails of crystalline ice shimmered in the night, billowing in the wind.

‘It’s beautiful,’ whispered Anna. She stared in awe at the hulking ship, much smaller than a galleon but larger than a brigantine, but still every bit as grand and majestic as one made from wood. 

Elsa was bent at the waist, hands on her knees as she dragged harsh breaths in and out. Chest still heaving, she straightened and sent a small smile to Anna before waving Olaf over. ‘Are you ready?’

Olaf jumped to attention and saluted. ‘Ready!’ 

‘I can send Olaf to the ship with my magic, but we’ll have to cross the sea to reach the ship.’ 

Anna’s nodded quickly. She wanted to ask how exactly they were going to cross the sea without a boat, but the words were lost to wonder as Olaf was carried by the swirl of a small snow storm to land on the deck of the ship. 

‘Anna.’ Elsa held her shaking hand out to Anna. She took it automatically, feeling the muscles in Elsa’s hand and arm vibrate with nerves and power. ‘Don’t let go, don’t you dare let go until we make it to that ship.’ 

They ran for the water, heedless of the pelting rain on their faces and the rising waves of the Dark Sea as it reared like a terrible sea creature, lightning illuminating the waters from black to a luminous teal. At the first touch of Anna’s booted feet against the ice, her feet almost slid from beneath her. Only Elsa’s strong grip in hers kept her upright as they ran across ice pads on the water, the roiling waves intent on throwing them into the sea. They reached the ship almost too easily, letting go of each other as they scaled the side and tumbled onto the icy deck. 

Anna struggled to a sitting position, body shaking. Each breath into her lungs sharp and chilling and fuelled by adrenaline that made her head spin. A delirious laugh bubbled from her chest. They made it! The wind whipped at Elsa’s blonde hair and she grinned back at Anna from behind the helm of the ship, eyes gleaming blue and looking triumphant at conquering their first obstacle. For the first time on this entire journey, Anna breathed a sigh of relief. They would get to Ahtohallan in no time. She stood up and pitched to the side, grabbing hold of the railings before she fell into the sea. She hadn’t quite found her sea legs yet.

The further north they sailed, the worse the storm got. Rain fell like needles on Anna’s skin and the sky lit with flashes after flashes of lightning. But Elsa sailed undeterred, guiding the ship with her magic and steering it through resisting waters that only seemed to get angrier and more unforgiving. 

It all felt too easy. 

A bolt of lightning struck the deck. Blindingly bright. A line of crackling white that drained the world of colour. The world went white and Anna blinked and blinked before her vision returned. Her heart leapt to her throat. Her stomached dropped. The ship was cleaved in two, a widening gap between her and the front of the ship. And when Anna thought it could not get worse, a column of water rushed up from the gap. The water swirled and twisted, finally taking form in the shape of a horse. It galloped straight at her, knocking her off her feet and sending her over the ship. 

Anna screamed as she fell into the sea, panic shooting through her at the shock of her head and body submerging into water. She swam upwards instinctively and inhaled a lungful of air when she broke through to the surface, only to dive back down to avoid the crumbling ship as ice rained from above.

‘Olaf!’ cried Anna, coughing water when she resurfaced again. Olaf bobbed past her. She grabbed one of his arms and swam for the nearest floating sheet of ice. She pushed Olaf onto it and scrabbled on after him. 

A roaring whinny echoed across the sea and Anna clapped her hands over her ears. No matter how tight she pressed, the ghostly cry filtered through. A glowing shape beneath the dark waters caught Anna’s eyes, growing bigger until the horse leapt from the water with Elsa astride its back, the reins curled around her hands as she tried to calm the agitated creature. 

Anna stared in disbelief at the _Nokk_. It was a creature of myth and yet, it was in front of her, hooves pawing impatiently against the water’s surface. Its watery mane dripped into the sea as Elsa brushed her hands over its neck. 

‘The Nokk has generously agreed to take us the Ahtohallan.’ 

Anna could only nod, stunned into silence from the shock of almost drowning, from the appearance of a mythical horse. She cleared her throat and bowed her head to the Nokk. ‘We are honoured.’ 

The Nokk huffed and pranced on the spot in acknowledgement of Anna’s words. 

Elsa cast a harness and fixed a line of ice to connect the sheet of ice to the Nokk. Before they resumed their journey, Elsa drew the water from Anna’s clothes with her magic. She still shook with the cold, but at least her clothes were no longer wet. 

The sea had calmed and the storm had receded, but Anna stilled jumped at every spray of water, nerves still on edge, still wary of drowning. An eery silence fell over them as they continued north, even Olaf had the sense to stay quiet.

Anna's mouth dropped open as Ahtohallan came into view. A tremble shook her body. Not from the cold, rather from something Anna couldn't describe. Familiar like déjà vu and just out of her grasp, no matter how much she tried to reach for the words. The closest feeling was the ice-cold fear that had swirled in her body as her heart froze. But instead of cold, her body shivered with warmth as the Nokk carried Elsa and pulled Anna and Olaf towards Ahtohallan. 

***

There was no other words to describe the ancient glacier that called to Elsa like a siren and to Anna had an overwhelming sense of familiarity. With every step into the ice fortress, the feeling of returning intensified and filled Anna with the warmth of homecoming. 

'How is it so beautiful?' asked Anna, breathless as lights danced within the ice itself.

'Do you feel it?' Elsa reached for Anna's hand and breathed out. The tension in her shoulders faded. 

Their brisk walk turned into a run as they raced through the icy tunnels and rooms, Elsa driven by the voice only she could hear, Anna from the need to keep up, and Olaf from being pulled along. Anna ran after the twinkling colours that flickered playfully ahead of them, lighting up the way until they reached an expansive cavern blocked by columns of ice. 

With a flick of Elsa’s hands, the fallen pillars righted themselves with a snap, slotting between the floor and the ceiling. A single swipe of Elsa's hand and ice shattered like glass, opening a doorway to a room that was as black as pitch. 

‘Together.’ Anna grasped Elsa’s hand.

They stepped in unison into the room and an explosion of colour burst before them. Memories after memories flashed across the walls. At the sight of their mother’s face, exactly as she had looked all those years ago, Anna’s knees shook with weakness and she gripped onto Elsa’s arm to stay standing. 

‘Mother,’ whispered Anna. She turned to Elsa whose eyes shone with unshed tears. Every single part of the room was filled with a memory of Iduna, young and old, and Anna’s heart clenched at seeing her mother’s smile again. 

_You are found._

At the echoing words, Elsa let go of Anna and a snowstorm swirled into existence from her casting hands. Flurries of snow surrounded them, cloaking them in pure white and filling the room of memories with the thrum of magic. Anna squinted her eyes and shielded her face as snow stung her skin. As suddenly as it started, the snowstorm stopped and snowflakes fell like fine powder to reveal the cavern transformed. 

‘How do you that?’ blurted Anna, incredulous, not at the cavern which was now bright blue and filled with moving snow sculptures, but at her sister who looked magnificent in a fine white dress. She looked down at her worn and crumpled travel clothes. ‘Why can’t you do that to me?’ 

Anna rolled her eyes at Elsa’s smirk. Some sister, she was. She forgot about her jealously over the new clothes as she turned on the spot, struck by the magic of the memories that played out like play. Some were her own. Some where Elsa’s. But most where kept and immortalised by the water. Anna traversed between the sculptures, joy filled her at seeing her and Elsa as children, of mother and father, younger and every bit as in love as they had been when they were alive. She cringed when she reached the sculpture of her and Hans singing about sandwiches. 

A sculpture of their grandfather marched past Anna, face fixed in a furious expression and hands curled into fists. 

‘Grandfather?’ Elsa turned to her and without a word, they went after him and the aide that followed. 

‘The Northuldra follow magic. It makes them think they can defy the will of a king.’ 

Alarm shot through Anna at their grandfather’s words. His fear of magic, fear of the Northuldra bled through the conversation and tainted the lightness she felt from the memories that surrounded her. The two figures walked through a wall and with a slashing action, Elsa tore open a hole in the wall and followed quickly. 

Anna rushed after Elsa. She jerked back. Hand tensed on the wall, physically stopping herself from crossing the threshold. Dread prickled the back of her neck. An icy draft blew out from tunnel. The glacier wasn’t as cold as she expected, but this tunnel was different. 

‘Elsa?’ called Anna, slowly poking her head through the threshold. The tunnel sloped dangerously, one misstep and she would slide the rest of the way. 

‘What is it?’ 

Anna grimaced, the prickling at her neck got more insistent the longer she lingered. There was something about this tunnel or where it led to that felt… _Off_. It was nothing like the rest of Ahtohallan or the hall of memories behind her. This feeling was secretive, a hint of sinister that had Anna pausing, hesitant to follow. 

‘I don’t like this,’ said Anna, a chill trickled down her spine. 

Elsa turned, eyes determined, irises ethereally blue with a glow that was not quite of this world. ‘It’ll be fine. Can't you hear her calling?’

She shook her head.

Couldn't Elsa feel the wrongness? 

‘Quick, we’re going to lose them.’ Elsa sprinted forward after their grandfather. 

Anna looked the way they came, then to Elsa's retreating back. Her leg bounced and she bit her bottom lip, unwilling and unsure. Dry rough wood enclosed her fingers and Olaf tugged her forward. 

‘It’ll be fine,’ reassured Olaf. His stumpy feet followed in Elsa's path. ‘We’ll be fine.’ 

‘I’m not sure Olaf,’ confessed Anna. 

The path was as slick as she it looked, feet sliding as Olaf pulled her along. The tunnel opened up into a vast, circular cavern, walls of ice so smooth that they were as clear as mirrors. Anna shook at the expanse of it and stuck close to the entrance, as far from the ledge as she could. It was enough to see from where she stood that it was deep and dark. 

Anna watched Elsa lean over, body dangerously close to pitching over the side. She launched forward and grabbed Elsa's wrist, pulling her back from the edge. 

‘What were you thinking?’ hissed Anna, face pale, eyes wide and terrified. She wanted to shout with how how much her heart hammered in her chest, but the strange silence of the cavern stifled her voice. 

‘I have to follow them.’

‘You don't know how far down the bottom is! What if you get hurt?’ The echoing voice of their grandfather resounded in the cavern, fading further away with every second. 

Elsa looked over her shoulder into the pit. When she turned back to Anna, determination filled her expression and uncurled her shoulders and straightened her posture. ‘The answers lie down there with grandfather. We need the truth.’ 

Anna squeezed Elsa’s hand and breathed out harshly. There was no fighting the resolution in Elsa when she made a decision, so Anna did the only thing she could and pulled her sister into a tight hug. 

‘Please be careful,’ whispered Anna, clutching Elsa’s shoulders before letting go. ‘I’ll be waiting.’ 

With a small smile that was more a grimace than a lifting of her lips, Elsa faced the ledge and jumped. 

***

‘Elsa? Can you hear me?’ Anna called down, hand cupped to her face. 

‘Do you think Elsa’s okay down there?’ Olaf had his hands to his mouth, his little body seemed to shiver, but that didn’t seem right to Anna. He was made of snow and magic. The cold shouldn’t bother him. ‘She’s been down there for a while now.’ 

‘She’ll be okay,’ said Anna firmly. She peered over the ledge, hands gripping the edge of the cliff, ice biting into the soft skin of her palms. Elsa was fine. She had to be. ‘She’s okay.’ 

A blast of icy sparks shot past Anna’s face, leaving a tingle of magic on her cheeks as it whisked over her head. 

Anna scrambled to her feet. She raced into the tunnel and after the sparks. ‘Come on, Olaf! That’s Elsa’s signal.’ 

The ground beneath her groaned and rumbled, shaking her legs and throwing her off her feet. Anna landed on her hands and knees in the hall of memories. A loud crunch came from behind her. The opening of the tunnel collapsed in on itself, sealing shut the only way for Anna to reach Elsa. 

Unease shivered through Anna as she took in the hall, dimmed and littered with mounds of snow and devoid of memories. In the middle of the cavern a sculpture coalesced into a man on his knees, dressed in the clothes of the Northuldra, a _guksi_ halfway to his mouth. Another sculpture emerged of grandfather standing behind the man with his sword raised over his head. 

_‘The dam will weaken their lands, so they’ll have to turn to me.’_

_‘King Runeard, the dam, it’s hurting the forest!’_

Anna’s heart sank as she stared at the twisted expression on her grandfather’s face, a deep-set furrow to his brow, and mouth warped into a vicious snarl. He had raised his sword to a weaponless man whose back was open and turned. This was not the heroic man from the stories of her childhood. 

Realisation hit Anna. The story connected and all that was left was the truth. She knew what she needed to do. She took Olaf’s hand in hers. ‘I know what we have to do to set things right. We have to break the dam.’

Olaf’s thin wooden fingers flexed in anxiety. ‘Arendelle will be flooded.’ 

‘It’s the right thing to do. We have to go now before it’s too late.’ Anna and Olaf ran through the tunnels and caverns of Ahtohallan. They needed to get home. 'Come on, Elsa's probably waiting for us.' 

The entrance of Ahtohallan was within view when Olaf’s grip slipped from her hand. 

‘What’s wrong?’ Anna crouched down next to Olaf who was shaking his head. 

'I don't think Elsa's okay,' whispered Olaf. ‘I think she’s gone too far.’ 

He reached up for Anna and she watched with horror as Olaf's expression stilled before his body crumbled into a pile of soft snow. The twigs, carrot and coal that was part of Olaf dropped to the ground. 

'No, Olaf!' A sob escaped Anna's throat. The snow that made up her and Elsa's childhood friend drifted into the air, flurries fluttering away with a force that Anna was hopeless to stop. 

***

It could have been seconds, minutes or even hours before Anna found the strength to uncurl herself from hugging her knees. Time passed mysteriously in Ahtohallan. The magic in Olaf had faded. Anna didn't want to think what that meant for Elsa. She held her satchel to her chest and wished that the twigs, the coals, and the carrot inside were able to hug back. In the absence of warmth, all Anna felt was the chill of being alone.

Elsa had gone too far and Anna, even being with her, hadn’t been able to stop her. A deep ache resounded within her body and soul. Darkness raged like a festering monster within her chest. She stumbled to her feet and started to make her way out. 

Her sister wouldn’t have wanted this. 

Wouldn’t have wanted Anna to languish in the dark. 

So she straightened herself as best she could, tried to pull back her shoulders, even if every step felt heavy and weighted. 

Anna turned to look at where she had come from. Somewhere inside was the melted remains of a memory. The one of grandfather. The story of his betrayal to the Northuldra and Arendelle. His betrayal to his son and granddaughters.

King Runeard was a man driven by fear. 

Anna clenched her fist. She would not let her fear stop her. 

She would stumble. She would crawl. She would do this for Elsa. She would do this for herself. 

Anna left Ahtohallan and stared out at the Dark Sea. All the hope drained from her. The water was unnaturally still and so dark that had she stepped forward and dipped a foot into the blackness, she would have jerked backwards for the fear of falling.

Her chest tightened, body flooded with desolation, as her helplessness simmered and seethed into hot fury. Anna gritted her teeth, struggling to breathe, every pull of air into her lungs catching in her throat. Anger rose like the swell of the sea. It rose in a rush from inside her. She opened her mouth and screamed, throwing her fists into the air and eyes closed tight as she yelled and cried and shouted at the world. She yelled until her voice was hoarse and her throat hurt. 

With a weak sob, she fell to her knees, body bent forward, and forehead pressed to the snow. Hot tears burned her eyes. She was helpless in the face of an insurmountable obstacle. 

It was hopeless. She had no magic. No way to get back to the Enchanted Forest. She was useless. 

What was she but Anna? 

Normal.

Nothing special. 

_You're wrong, Anna._

Anna gasped and pressed a fist to her chest. 

_We promised. Together._

She lifted her head, the world blurred from the tears in her eyes. A blurred darkness on top of a clear line of white. She scrubbed at her eyes furiously, drying the tears with her sleeve. The air seemed to shimmer around her, a phantom breeze washed over her as if Ahtohallan itself had exhaled a sigh of relief.

_Together._

The Enchanted Forest needed her. 

Arendelle needed her. 

_Elsa_ needed her.

She had to do the right thing.

Life or death, Anna would make it back to the forest. She would swim back if she had to. 

She took off their mother's scarf from her shoulders and folded it, hand smoothing out the fabric. Earth, fire, water, air. A fifth spirit. She brushed the snow off a rock and placed the scarf carefully on top. She stood and stripped off her cloak, took off her boots and tied up her hair.

'Okay,' muttered Anna to herself. She clenched and unclenched her fist, shook loose her nerves, and breathed deeply in and out. She bent her legs at the knees and broke into a run. 

The edge of the water rushed to meet her, Anna steeled herself, ran faster and plunged head first into the sea. All the breath in her lungs seemed to freeze, chest and ribs constricting, muscles stiffening and uncooperative no matter how she kicked her legs. It was like the connection between brain and limb had severed. 

Panic gripped Anna, her body grew numb, pins and needles settling in and overtaking her thoughts. Darkness covered her eyes and the water pressed in around her, muffling and confusing her senses. Her lungs burned for air and she thrashed up to the surface, or was she thrashing down instead? 

She kicked and kicked, propelled herself with legs and arms. But the touch of air on the top of her head never came. Her vision grew hazy, blurring at the edges, and her limbs clawed weakly. Her body jerked, mouth opening as she inhaled involuntarily as water flooded her lungs. 

No, thought Anna as her eyes grew heavy, arm stretched upwards. A flash of bright blue lit the dark, rising fast from the depths towards Anna just as she slipped into unconsciousness. 

***

_'Princess Anna! Please do pay attention! I will ask again, what is the story of the Nokk?' Master Ernst strolled past Elsa's desk to stand over Anna._

_'It's a shape-shifting water spirit!'_

_'Wrong! It is a malevolent spirit who lured men, women and children to their deaths by drowning,' corrected Master Ernst. 'Which is why you would do well to avoid even the smallest of brooks.'_

_Anna pouted at being wrong again. She ran her small hand over the printed black and white etching of the Nokk in her copy of Scandinavian myths and fables. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. 'Well, that's just silly! Why would the Nokk do that? Those people must have done something wrong. If we become friends with the Nokk then we can all play together!'_

_Elsa giggled behind her hand and Anna puffed her chest, immensely satisfied with her logic. Master Ernst wasn’t pleased and had given her extra reading for her comment._

***

Anna woke to gentle rocking and the smell of salt in the air. She groaned as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the sea and sky. Beneath her hands was the curious sensation of shifting water that resisted the push of her palm. It was as if there was an invisible barrier between her skin and the water itself. 

‘You couldn't have arrived earlier?’ grumbled Anna. Her mouth was dry and her throat felt raw like she had gurgled salt water, which she had. 

The Nokk whinnied and swung its head from side to side in displeasure. 

‘I’m not complaining,’ Anna smoothed down the Nokk’s mane in a placating gesture. She sat up and grimaced at her damp clothes, crusted with salt from the sea water. ‘Just glad you made it in time before I drowned.’

Anna held onto the thin ice reins looped around the Nokk's neck and urged it into a gallop. She had a forest to save. 

  
***

The dam was broken.

Anna had done the right thing. 

They had saved the Enchanted Forest and righted a wrong that had taken decades to rectify. 

Time was an odd thing.

All it had taken was one day for her to lose her home and her sister.

Anna hugged her legs, chin resting on top of her knees as she focused on the pebble beach. She had sent Kristoff to help the Arendellian soldiers prepare for the journey back to Arendelle. They would leave in the next few days. Kristoff had left reluctantly, but she had promised that she would be fine and smiled as reassuringly as she could. 

She bit down hard on her quivering bottom lip. Her eyes closed at the burn of fresh tears. A breeze tickled the hair on the back of her neck, tingling with the tell-tale signs of magic. Anna opened her eyes and jumped back with a scream as a faceless and armless snowman hobbled over to her. 

‘Olaf?!’ 

‘Anna? Oh, thank goodness, I was beginning to think I would never see you again! I mean that quite literally too.’

She rummaged through her satchel and affixed the coals, carrot and twigs onto Olaf. Her stalled tears fell freely and her face crumpled as Olaf grinned, arms reaching up for a hug. She sank down on her knees and hugged Olaf, feeling warmth seep into her body. 

‘I do love warm hugs so much,’ mumbled Olaf into Anna’s shoulder. ‘I missed you.’

The tears refused to stop and Anna sniffed as she leaned back. Hope rose unbidden. ‘Olaf, if you’re here, does that mean Elsa’s—’

Anna eyes widened as she heard the watery whinny of the Nokk. She turned to the horizon to see a figure wearing a flowing dress on the Nokk, blonde hair shining almost white in the bright sun.

The Nokk raced across the water, bringing Elsa towards her. 

***

‘You know, you really should be resting.’

Anna snorted loudly, still she leaned heavily against the tree behind her. ‘Says the woman who dived too deep and froze.’ 

It was still too early to joke, but what could Anna do but joke? She was mad. She was elated. She was a combination of so many emotions that she hadn’t the energy to process. Right now, she was tired, bone-weary tired. 

‘I’m going to have to live with that for the rest of my life, aren’t I?’ 

‘Yes, you will be reminded of it every single day.’ She rested her head on top of Elsa’s. ‘I’m just glad you’re okay.’ 

‘Me too.’

Anna watched the flickering fire in silence. She twisted the ring around her finger, a small smile on her lips. Elsa’s hands darted out to grab Anna’s left hand. A tight hug followed that crushed all the air from her lungs.

‘Finally! I thought Kristoff was never going to propose,’ said Elsa, her exhausted face lit with happiness. ‘I had to listen to him practise and well, I was worried he was going to blow his chances.’

Anna laughed and all the weird conversations Kristoff had started in the past few months suddenly clicked. Some of those conversations were really, really terrible. ‘He very nearly did.’

‘When will you have the wedding?’ 

‘I think we’ll take a break before we talk about any wedding planning, but before we announce it to the Kingdom, I wanted to get the Queen’s blessing first.’ 

An enigmatic smile appeared on Elsa’s face. ‘You don’t need to give your own blessing Anna.’ 

It took a moment for the words to sink into Anna’s exhausted mind. ‘Wait, what?’

‘The spirits all agreed.’ Elsa reached up and cupped Anna’s cheek affectionately. ‘Arendelle deserves to stand with you.’ 

‘But I don’t know the first thing about being Queen!’ exclaimed Anna, mouth opening and closing as she tried to find the words. ‘I-I don’t know the first thing about ruling the Kingdom.’ 

‘You know that’s not true. I believe in you.’ 

Anna stared at her sister and saw a self-assured acceptance and confidence that hadn’t been present before Ahtohallan. Elsa had found herself in the journey for the truth. So had she in her own way. If Elsa believed in her, then she could to. 

‘Okay.’ Anna nodded, then nodded again, firmer and more decisive. She was going to be the Queen of Arendelle. ‘I’m not going to have any time to plan the wedding.’ 

‘I can plan your wedding for you?’ 

Anna laughed at Elsa’s half-hearted suggestion. ‘I love you, but we both know you hate planning parties.’ 

Elsa laughed before sobering, ‘You’ll be okay, right?’ 

They had both knocked on the devil's door and survived. Anna who, from sheer willpower to do what was right, had crossed the Dark Sea and almost drowned as she had done so. Elsa who had dived too deep searching for the truth, but who had found herself in the depths. 

Anna smiled and hugged Elsa. ‘We’ll be more than okay.’ 


End file.
